Covered box with hinge structure



J. LESHIN June 24, 1969" COVERED BOX WITH HINGE STRUCTURE INVENTOR.

JOSEPH LESHIN JOHN P. CHANDLER HIS ATTORNEY.

United States Patent COVERED BOX WITH HINGE STRUCTURE Joseph Leshin, New York, N.Y., assignor to Calumet Manufacturing (10., Inc., New York, N .Y., a corporation of New York Filed Nov. 24, 1965, Ser. No. 509,482 Int. Cl. Ed 3/02 US. Cl. 16-171 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A hinge structure for a molded box and cover of like contour and having long and short hinge knuckles formed along one edge of the box and cover, one of the knuckles having a hinge pin and the other having a socket axially aligned with the hinge pin and wherein the hinge parts can be assembled and disassembled only when the box and cover are in one angular position.

This invention relates to an improved hinge structure for boxes, containers and the like which is preferably molded integrally with the box and cover structure although it may be easily formed as a separate structure and suitably secured to the body and cover of the receptacle. The invention relates as well to a box or receptacle formed in two sections of identical contour and shape so that they may both be formed from the same mold, the section carrying a novel interengaging hinge structure which can be assembled in a matter of seconds and without the use of tools.

The hinge structure of the present invention, as well as the combination of box and hinge structure, is particularly useful as containers for small articles such as jewelry and other articles of feminine adornment including articles of clothing.

This hinge structure consists essentially of a long and a short hinge knuckle formed along one edge of the box and cover, one of the knuckles having a hinge pin and the other having a socket axially aligned with the hinge pin and arranged to receive the hinge pin on the other section, i.e., the cover, while one knuckle on the cover has a similarly formed axial socket to receive the hinge pin on the knuckle on the body section of the box.

One novel feature of each axial socket is a radial slot extending between the socket and the outer periphery and when the cover hinge is in assembled relation with the box hinge and the two sections are fully closed or are open and lying in a single plane these radial recesses through which the hinge pins must travel for disassembly are unaligned and hence there is little likelihood of disassembly.

As the cover is rotated 180 from open to closed position, there is one position which is achieved after rotation of about 90 where the hinge pins can be disengaged and it is in this angular position that the pins are engaged in the axial recesses in the first instance.

'In the areas of this inner edge of each part not occupied by the knuckles there is an elongated concave wall which is engaged by the knuckles of the other section and this concave wall acts as a stop, preventing disengagement except when the parts are in this 90 position. Actually, however, disassembly is prevented even in this position because the hinge pins and recesses are so proportioned as to size as to require force to snap them into place, and, for some reason, an even greater force to get them disengaged. Another factor hindering disengagement is the fact that one hinge pin must be moved in one direction to effect engagement and the other must be simultaneously moved at an angle of about 90 to this direction so that unintended removal of the hinge elements is almost impossible. In other words, if the compound motion necessary to achieve engagement or disengagement is effected, it must be intentional and not accidental.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a box with matching cover constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view constituting a plan view of the body and cover section considered to be supported in horizontal position on a flat surface;

FIG. 3 is a section taken on line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a section taken on line 44 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a plane view of a box in open condition forming a modification of the present invention.

The hinge structure of the present invention may be molded or cast integrally, i.e., all in one piece, with the body and cover sections 10 and 11 of a box formed from plastic material, each of the sections being of identical construction and contour. Referring first to the section 10, which may be considered as the body section, there is a base wall 12 with shallow front and rear side walls 14 and 16 and first and second end walls 18 and 19, all extending continuously around the base wall.

The top surfaces of the side and end walls may be flat so that when the box and cover are in closed relation these surfaces are in flat engagement. To provide a relatively dust-proof box, it is preferred, however, to have ribs with interfitting right angular surfaces and to this end there is first formed a continuous rim 20 extending around the outer margins of side and end walls 14, 16, 18 and 19. Starting at midpoint 21 on front wall 14 is an elongated recess 22 on the inner surface which extends over the lower 'half of these walls when viewed as in FIG. 2, and up to midpoint 23 on rear side wall 16. Between these points 21 and 23 and above the same is a rib 24 extending over the three walls.

On the inner side wall 16 there is formed a relatively long generally cylindrical hinge knuckle 26 starting at the midpoint of the wall and extending to a point spaced from the upper end of this wall and in this area above the knuckle 26 there is a concave longitudinal seat 28 for a purpose to be described. At the opposite end of rear side wall 16 there is also a shorter hinge knuckle 29 of a length equal to seat 28. Knuckle 26 has an outwardly facing, axially extending socket 30 and :between this socket and the outer surface of the knuckle there is a radially extending slot 31. Shorter hinge knuckle 29 has a hinge pin 32 which is received in the corresponding axial socket 30' in the knuckle 26' in the other section 11. Also between hinge knuckles 26 and 29, there is an elongated seat 33. As was earlier stated, the cover section 11 is identical with the body section but for clarity the knuckle, recess pin slots and elongated seats in the cover section are distinguished by the primes Thus the long knuckle is 26', etc.

It will be noted that radial slots 31 and 31' extend in a direction normal to the plane of the box sections.

To assemble the hinge elements, it is necessary to raise the cover section 11 about from the flat or horizontal position of FIG. 2 while the body section 10 remains in the original horizontal position and at this point the hinge pin 32' in the cover section is simply moved vertically downwardly through the radial slot 31 and at the same time the radial slot 31' in the cover section knuckle 26' is moved horizontally to the left and the hinge elements are now fully assembled. When the two parts are in the flat though interengaged open position of FIG. 2, the cover cannot become disengaged from the body section because the concave seat 28' of the cover section engages the shorter knuckle 29 of the body section and the same is true of the concave seat 33 on the cover section which engages the longer knuckle 26 of the body section. Similarly the body section cannot be raised upwardly relative to the cover section when in this position since the concave seats 28 and 33 engage the knuckles 29 and 26 of the cover section.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that there is only a short arcuate position through which the cover section travels from open to closed position where the hinge elements could conceivably be disengaged but if the parts are carefully proportioned so that the pins are required to be snapped in place, it would be virtually necessary to break the pins in order to effect this disengagement.

It will also be observed that while the radial slots 31 and 31 are parallel with each other when the sections are in the flat planar position of FIG. 2, they are not aligned when the cover is in this 90 position and also that to engage the cover hinge pin 32 in body section radial slot 31 and socket 30 of knuckle 26 in the body section, the pin must be moved vertically downwardly, while to engage the other hinge pin 30', the radial slot 31' must be moved horizontally to the left. These compound motions, that of pin 32' downwardly and of slot 31' horizontally to the left, must be performed simultaneously if the multiple engagement is to succeed. It will thus be apparent that these two different motions could rarely coincide to disengage the parts.

To releasably retain the cover in the closed position of FIG. 1, there is secured to the front wall 14 of the body section an elongated knob 36 formed with a rib 38 which slides past a similarly formed rib 40 on the front wall 14' of the cover section. Another similar knob 42 may be secured to the front wall 14 of the cover section and have the same fastening means.

The foregoing box and case may be made as by molding, casting or otherwise from materials capable of being molded while in a plastic state followed by hardening. It could also be made from metal but in such an instance the hinge structure would be separately formed and attached to the box sections by suitable means. In such case, the hinge structure would usually have leaves which carry the knuckles.

In the arrangement shown, the actual pivot elements are widely spaced and are near the ends of the adjoining edges but the knuckles 26 could be made shorter and the knuckles 29 longer without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the modified form of the invention shown in FIG. 5, the box and the cover 51 are again of similar size and contour and the box has a knuckle 52 of greater length and a shorter knuckle 53. Similarly, the cover has a shorter knuckle 55 and a longer one 56, the long knuckles having pins 58 received in sockets 59. The combined length of the longer and shorter knuckles is less than the full length of the meeting edges of the box and a filler piece 60 is inserted in the area between the opposed inner ends of the opposed knuckles 52 and 56, said filler piece having at each end thereof a pivot pin 61 which is received in a socket 62 in the end wall of the longer knuckle.

While there have been described herein what are at present considered preferred embodiments of the invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many modifications and changes may be made therein without departing from the essence of the invention. It is therefore to be understood that the exemplary embodiments are illustrative and not restrictive of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. The combination with a box formed in two identical parts to provide a body section and a cover section, of a hinge structure carried along two adjoining edges of the sections, each hinge structure including plural elongated knuckles carried along each of said adjoining edges, one of said knuckles extending clear to the end of said edge and the other extending from a point substantially midway between the ends to a point spaced from the opposite end by a distance substantially equal to the length of the first knuckle, thereby providing two pairs of abutting knuckle ends when the four knuckles are aligned, one knuckle end in each pair of abutting knuckle ends being provided with a short hinge pin aligned axially with the hinge structure and the other having a socket to receive said hinge pin, each socket having a slot extending in a direction radially and horizontally outwardly therefrom when the two parts lie flat on a common horizontal plane and through which the hinge pins may pass when the two box parts are disposed to each other and the parts of the hinge structures are being assembled.

2. The structure recited in claim 1 wherein the knuckles which extend to said midpoint are longer than the knuckles which extend to the ends of the edges.

3. The structure recited in claim 1 wherein said longer knuckles are at least twice the length of the others.

4. The structure recited in claim 1 wherein the adjoining edges of the box and cover sections have seats which engage the knuckles on the other section and act as radial stops.

5. The structure recited in claim 1 wherein the hinge pins are of such size relative to the radial slots as to be required to be forced into place when the parts are to be interengaged.

6. The structure recited in claim 1 wherein there is an interference fit between the pins and the radial recesses through which they travel during the act of engaging and disengaging.

7. The structure recited in claim 1 wherein the radial slots extend in a direction normal to the faces of the two sections.

8. The structure recited in claim 1 wherein the meeting edges of the box and cover have right angular interfitting section to prevent dust particles from entering the closed box.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,601,101 6/1952 Derham 16-171 2,271,353 10/1955 Mackintosh 16168 2,963,734 12/1960 Huget 16171 FOREIGN PATENTS 651,934 4/1951 Great Britain.

BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner.

D. L. TROUTMAN, Assistant Examiner. 

